Last Days...

I am edging ever closer to the end of my tenure here in the Wild Wild East. As a result, there are many a meal and many a celebration to mark my passage back to the Great White North. Calling these countries strange nicknames is a play on Korean tradition. I do have to poke fun at them while I still can.

The country is flanked with two seas, each with their own internationally known names. Korea, however, has taken matters into her own hands, and actually teaches children in school that these seas are called (wait for it...) the West Sea (since the Yellow Sea is on the west side of the country...are you shaking your head yet?) and the East Sea (aptly named, since calling it the Sea of Japan, which is situated on it's easterly border, would conjure up far too many bad memories about the Japanese occupation). It's so bad that a teacher who will remain nameless was dumbfounded when I asked her a question about the properly-named sea. As in, she had no idea what the Yellow Sea was. Oh dear.

I digress.

We had an impromptu English Teachers lunch yesterday at Noboo. It was the first restaurant I was taken to in this country, so they felt it fitting to return. I have to agree. (I tried just now to find a post about that first lunch, but I guess I wasn't as into photographically documenting my life as I am now. C'est la vie.)

Note: I hope Kodak has an awesome return policy. The old film-n-flasher is taking and keeping purple pictures. It wasn't a fluke when it happened last week in Itaewon. Dangnabbit.

Korean food is wrought with side dishes, as seen here, and they are shared among all at the table. Gross when you're sitting with a person with a whopper of a cold sore on his or her top lip, but pretty intimate when you aren't grossed out ;)

We all got a small plate with a few slices of boiled (braised? Maybe) pork and kimchi. I can't wait to get away from the kimchi odour, let me tell you.

This is my place. Rice, soup, chopsticks and a spoon. Thankfully for newcomers, eating rice with the spoon is expected. I, however, could practically now eat liquid with chopsticks. I guess that's what a year of living forkless will do to you. I should rename the blog, "A Year of Living Forkless." haahaha

Today, I was given some goodbye gifts. Nice-uh. The postcard in the background was painted by one of our own teachers. Awesome job...and she gave me 5 of them. Maybe I'll send one back one day when I'm in England.

And one of Mrs. Lim's best (sister) friends gave me this adorable card that reads, "To Fresh Alexis"...

...with an adorable English message inside

Side note: I wonder exactly what, "Sound as a roach" means. Does it mean I could survive nuclear holocaust? Because if that is what she thinks of me, I'm pretty tough!

Unpacking the gift...

...how very Korean!

Nice-uh.

Up close of the beautiful artwork...

And Mrs. Lim's other (sister) friend bought me this cosmetics pouch, traditionally given on Lunar New Year to bring good luck.

Off to prep now for the par-tay. Wish me luck!